GREENWOOD VILLAGE | The Cherokee Trail football team’s waited nearly a year for another chance to play Valor Christian and the Cougars will have that opportunity thanks to Friday night’s rousing victory over Cherry Creek.
Junior Izaiah Lottie’s interception return for a touchdown sealed sixth-seeded Cherokee Trail’s 27-14 win over the third-seeded Bruins in front of a packed house at Stutler Bowl, earning coach Monte Thelen’s Cougars the program’s fourth trip to the state semifinals in the past seven seasons.
Next up for Cherokee Trail is a rematch against No. 2 Valor Christian in the final four, in which the Cougars hope to earn some payback for a 9-0 loss to the Eagles in last season’s 5A state championship game.
“Obviously Valor is the U.S. Steel of high school football right now, but we’re anxious for another opportunity against them,” said Thelen, whose team will play at home in the semifinals against the Eagles, who trounced No. 7 Columbine 49-13 in another quarterfinal.
Top-seeded Fairview got past No. 8 Pomona 35-24 in the third quarterfinal of the night and awaits the winner of the 1 p.m. Saturday contest between No. 5 ThunderRidge and No. 20 Grandview at Legacy Stadium.
Cherokee Trail earned its spot in the semifinals by snapping a two-game losing streak against Cherry Creek, which included a heartbreaking 28-27 loss earlier in the season. Senior quarterback Aric Johnson rushed for two touchdowns and junior running back Cameron Smith added a 64-yard TD run as part of a 172-yard rushing night in the winning effort for the Cougars (10-2).
The Cherokee Trail defense tormented Bruins quarterback Cameron Brucker all night, intercepting him five times — two by Lottie and one each by Evan White, Kaleb Barnum and Mason Bode — and Mar’Keith Bailey recovered a fumbled snap exchange.
Cherokee Trail won the turnover battle, something that plagued it in the first meeting with Cherry Creek (10-2), by a 6-2 count. The only costly giveaway for the Cougars came when Smith coughed up the ball near the goal line in the first quarter.
On top of all the turnovers, the Cherokee Trail defense did a fairly good job containing Cherry Creek’s explosive backfield of junior Milo Hall and senior Nathan Starks, though both managed to score touchdowns.
“We knew Cherry Creek has some great players with Nathan and Milo and some bruisers up front,” Cherokee Trail senior defensive end Jacob Martin said. “Our goal was to stop the run and establish ours and I guess we lasted a little longer.”
Despite playing such a strong game, the outcome was still in doubt for the Cougars when Hall scored a two-yard touchdown with 2:59 left in regulation.
A blocked extra point after Johnson’s third-quarter touchdown left the margin at six points (20-14) and meant Cherry Creek could potentially win again by a point with a touchdown and successful conversion.
The Bruins used their last two time outs as they stopped Cherokee Trail on its subsequent possession, getting the ball back on their own 42 with just under two minutes remaining to the delight of Cherry Creek’s massive crowd.
But it turned out to be the Cougars’ faithful who had the most to cheer about on the second play of the Bruins’ possession, when Lottie stepped in front of a short pass near midfield, bobbled it and then secured it before he raced down the sideline to the end zone with a cadre of protectors in Cameron Currington, Nic Bogulski and White.
“I was worried for a split second, but then I got my confidence back and knew I was taking it,” said Lottie, whose first interception derailed a potential Cherry Creek scoring drive late in the first half and allowed the Cougars to take 14-0 lead into the break.
Johnson accepted much of the blame for Cherokee Trail’s loss to Cherry Creek the first time, as he lost two fumbles and threw a pair of interceptions, but this time he turned the ball over just once, as he was intercepted on a deep throw on the last play of the first half.
The senior signalcaller played with poise, turning a broken play into an 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and leading a nine-play, 81-yard drive at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth that ended in his two-yard TD.
On the drive, Johnson hit junior Jason Thompson with a 25-yard strike on 3rd-and-long to get into the red zone.
“We just made plays and they turned the ball over this time,” Johnson said. “If you can not turn the ball over, you’ll win the game.”
(6) CHEROKEE TRAIL 27, (3) CHERRY CREEK 14
Score by quarters:
Cher. Trail 7 7 0 13 — 27
Cherry Creek 0 0 7 7 — 14
SCORING
First quarter
Cherokee Trail — Cameron Smith 64 yard run (Aric Johnson kick), 2:17
Second quarter
Cherokee Trail — Aric Johnson 18 yard run (Johnson kick), 6:27
Third quarter
Cherry Creek — Nathan Starks 68 yard run (Henry Lyon kick), 5:34
Cherokee Trail — Johnson 2 yard run (kick blocked), 8:42
Fourth quarter
Cherry Creek — Milo Hall 2 yard run (Lyon kick), 2:59
Cherokee Trail — Izaiah Lottie 48 yard interception return (Johnson kick), 1:27
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
